Age could be key to Supreme Court pick

WASHINGTON - The most important number in President Barack Obama's consideration of a Supreme Court nominee may be 50.

That's the age of Solicitor General Elena Kagan, who hit the half-century mark in late April. If Obama nominates Kagan to the high court, her age could be the decisive factor.

Kagan is the youngest, by nearly seven years, of the four people the president is known to have interviewed to succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. She would be the youngest nominee by a Democratic president since 1962, when President John F. Kennedy chose 44-year-old Byron White.

Age is one of many considerations before Obama as he closes in on filling the vacancy that will be created by Stevens' retirement this summer. The president could announce his pick any day.

One reason that age could be important is that this appointment is unlikely to immediately affect the court's balance of power. There was a shift when President George W. Bush chose appeals court judge Samuel Alito to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a moderate whose vote often made the difference in ideologically charged cases. Alito is now considered to be one of the more conservative justices.

This time around, Obama is certain to name a left-of-center successor to Stevens, the court's leading liberal. Finding a younger justice, who theoretically would serve longer, could enhance Obama's legacy.